


Red Strings

by opaleyedprince



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fix-It, Found Family, Intersex Asuka Ryo, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, elements taken from many of the various iterations/series, some creative liberties taken
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-05-29 15:45:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15076427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opaleyedprince/pseuds/opaleyedprince
Summary: One moon, two moons; one moon, two moons. Eventually, something had to break - something being Satan's patience. This time, he intends to beat God's twisted game once and for all.However, he is thrown for a loop when instead of possessing a fully grown Ryo Asuka, he finds himself in the body of a child. Now he must navigate events old and new, all while trying to prepare himself, protect those he loves, and right his past wrongdoings. The catch?Not only is he a child, he is also without any of his memories.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Or, Akira and Ryo meet - both for the first and hundredth time.

Upon breaking the ocean’s surface, the first thing Ryo Asuka saw was an overcast sky.

His lungs burned, the taste of salt overpowering as he coughed to expel water from his small body. Sea mist and the tips of waves clung to him, trying to drag him back into the murky depths. But the adrenaline flooding his veins gave him just enough energy to fight his way onto land.

Under the low-hanging grey clouds, he hauled himself up and crawled out of the water, only pausing to breathe when he was completely free from its icy clutches.

He blinked once, twice, three times in an attempt to clear the water from his eyes. Lifting a trembling hand to brush away his wet hair, he registered blurry figures in the distance – houses and people – but the population was small.

So the humans had yet to spread through here in their usual droves.

No sooner had such a thought crossed his mind, it vanished, and a weight settled in his abdomen.

Ignoring the bitter taste that accompanied it, he forced his body to move once more. Instead of heading for the buildings, he dragged his aching body up the side of the cliff, putting as much distance between the structures and himself as he was able. The numbness encapsulating him faded as he crawled, soon replaced by a dull throbbing in his hands and knees. His brain supplied that he’d likely scraped himself on the rough, rocky terrain, but he did his best to ignore it.

Finally, after reaching the top of the cliff, he allowed himself to collapse and settle in a small patch of green. It wasn’t much, but it was still better than laying on rocks.

Everything hurt.

He swallowed, mouth dry, and let his eyes begin to close. Unconsciousness loomed like a dark wave.

“Hey – are you okay?”

That voice- Ryo’s eyes opened and he lifted his head.

His gaze found black hair and eyes that were a soft, gentle brown. When he met their gaze, Ryo’s heart constricted with an unidentified emotion. They were so familiar, and yet he couldn’t place why.

“It’s alright,” the boy coaxed, “You’re safe.”

Ryo’s breath froze in his chest. He couldn’t move, nor speak; he could hardly breathe. He knew this boy.

He _knew_ him.

“It’s okay,” the boy repeated, extending open hands as though approaching a spooked animal. “You’re okay.”

Ryo only stared up at him, unblinking, before unconsciously lifting one of his own hands and placing it loosely in the boy’s. The boy squeezed his hand, and Ryo marveled at how warm the touch was. He pursed his lips and returned the action, watching as the boy’s face broke into a smile. Said smile was very brief, however.

“You’re cold,” the boy said. “Can you get up?”

“Yes?” Ryo managed, his voice scratchy and tone unsure. But he might as well try.

Pulling his feet under him, he prepared to stand, but in his haste forgot how little strength he had left. He was only able to remain upright for a scant few seconds before crumpling. A small “uff” escaped him as he fell more than sat back down, gripping the boy’s hand tighter.

“No.” He corrected himself, his limbs feeling heavier than before. He realized he was shivering, probably due to his waterlogged clothing.

“Are you okay?!” The boy dropped to his knees, grabbing Ryo’s other hand to stop him from falling over completely.

“Tired.” Single-word responses were all Ryo could muster, it seemed.

“So you’re not hurt?”

Ryo assessed himself. While his body ached, that was likely due to being buffeted about by waves for who knew how long, and though his hands and knees did feel rather raw, he could still move without much trouble. He shook his head.

“Great!” The boy grinned, displaying the same warmth in his smile that Ryo felt from his hands. “I’m Akira! What’s your name?”

Ryo swallowed again. His throat was still dry, tongue heavy in his mouth, and his eyes kept threatening to close, but he managed to stay sitting up.

“Ryo,” he said, glancing between Akira’s face and their joined hands.

“Nice to meet you!” Akira beamed, wiggling closer and sitting down beside him. “Where’d you come from?”

In response, Ryo turned and nodded to the sea.

“No way!” Akira gasped, “really?!”

“Yes,” Ryo said with a slight frown – what exactly was it about his reply that made it seem so unbelievable?

He was about to ask Akira, but instead found himself yawning. It took him several seconds longer than he would have liked to realize he was swaying in place, dangerously close to falling over altogether.

“I-” Ryo began, but his voice refused to cooperate. He saw more than felt his body moving, vision tilting as the last of his strength failed. But to his surprise, he didn’t hit the ground.

Instead, arms encircled him and stopped his fall.

“Don’t worry.” Came Akira’s voice. “I got you.”

Against both his better judgement and his will, Ryo found himself yawning again, going lax in the warm embrace. He realized he’d stopped shivering, and suddenly all he wanted to do was sleep

“It’s alright now,” Akira said, one of his hands moving to support Ryo’s head. “You’re safe. You can sleep.”

Had he the strength to do so, Ryo would have scoffed. Safe? From what little he could recall of his life so far – nearly drowning in the ocean – it had been the exact opposite of “safe”.

Still, he couldn’t help but find the idea of rest inviting. As he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off, he almost believed Akira’s words were true.

 

He drifted in complete darkness, suspended, unable to move.

But where was he?

Thousands of lights flickered soundlessly into being, filling the space around him.

“Forgive me-”

Was that his voice?

It couldn’t have been.

He wasn’t speaking

“-such a fool.”

Something in his chest twinged, mounting until the pain was almost unbearable, but he couldn’t scream.

A warm glow, flashes of a smiling face that was both familiar and alien to him.

“Ryo, sweetie.”

A reassuring smile, slowly melting away like wax. He tried to reach out.

_Don’t go._

But still, he couldn’t move.

Gone, she was gone.

His fault.

Too soon.

 _“No, come back!”_ He tried to scream, but his jaw refused to move. _“Don’t leave me!”_

Somewhere in the jeweled sky, she screamed.

Glass shattered. Metal wrenched and bent.

White-hot pain, all-encompassing, impact.

His body convulsed.

Falling, falling, falling.

Into the ocean.

Through the air?

The ocean.

The air.

Not again.

 _Please_ not again.

“Ryo!”

Akira?

 

Ryo opened his eyes and found himself cocooned in warmth. He wasn’t sure exactly when he drifted back into consciousness, nor if he stopped dreaming for a period before that. Funnily enough, he couldn’t seem to recall what the dream had been about.

No matter, it wasn’t important.

At least he was dry now, wherever he was.

He squinted, trying to get his bearings, but it was in vain – he couldn’t see his surroundings. It was much too dark.

Upon trying to wiggle, fear filled him when he realized his movement was restricted. Arms pinned at his sides, upper body bound. Only his legs were still capable of motion, so he kicked out with one of his feet.

“Youch!” A voice yelped, and he felt more than saw a weight next to him jump. “That hurt, Ryo!”

“Sorry.”

Ryo blinked, recalling how he emerged from the sea, crawled his way up a cliff, and finally fell asleep in the arms of someone his age. The voice he heard was familiar, and it took less than a second for him to connect it to the name of its owner.

“Akira?” He asked, letting himself relax and squinting again in a fruitless effort to see in the dark. “I can’t see you.”

The warm weight next to him moved and shuffled away. After a brief pause, everything was bathed in light.

“Where are we?” Ryo asked, still squinting as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change.

“My house.” Akira gave him a bright smile, his hand dropping from the light switch. He crawled back across the bed and sat next to Ryo. “You hogged all the blankets while you slept, but don’t worry – I don’t mind.”

Ryo nodded.

“I seem to be stuck,” he said, wiggling his toes experimentally and pausing when Akira giggled. It was a nice sound. Ryo made a mental note: try to make Akira laugh more often.

“Stay still,” Akira said, “I’ll get you out.”

Ryo did his best to do as asked. Not that he had much of a need to fidget in the first place – at the moment, he was still too tired. Again, he felt rather than saw Akira tug at various parts of the blanket. True to his word, Ryo stayed still and waited, only moving to breathe and turn his head to stare in Akira’s direction. To his credit, Akira didn’t seem to mind the attention.

“How did we get to your house?” Ryo asked after several long moments.

“My dad carried you.” Akira lifted his head to send a smile his way before said smile turned sheepish. “I tried to do it myself, but, er, I’m not strong enough.”

“It’s fine.” Ryo would have shrugged, but he didn’t have the energy. “Thanks.”

“Got it!” Akira announced proudly after another pause. With a final pull, the blankets keeping Ryo in place loosened and fell away.

“You okay?” Akira asked, sitting up and holding out a hand.

“Yes,” Ryo said, pushing the covers aside and taking his hand. A small part of him was confused by the worry in Akira’s voice – after the many times he’d asked, was it not obvious that Ryo was fine? – but a larger part of him felt oddly pleased. “I’m alright.”

He glanced down, blinking in surprise as he observed the light bandages on his hands and knees, too tidy to have been put there by Akira. It must have been Akira’s father.

Perhaps that was why Akira had expressed his concern.

“Are you hungry?”

Akira’s voice drew Ryo’s attention and he tilted his head. Even through the bandages, Akira’s hand was warm.

“Hun-gry,” Ryo said, pronouncing the word as though he were saying it for the first time, weighing each syllable on his tongue.

“Like, um,” Akira paused, “do you want food? Something to eat?”

“Ee-aah-t,” Ryo repeated, still more interested in their joined hands than he was in answering the question. Deciding he wanted to feel even warmer, he wiggled closer and nestled himself against Akira’s side.

“That tickles-!” Akira laughed, his free hand keeping Ryo steady. “Um, how about this: does your tummy hurt?”

Ryo exhaled a sigh, but considered the question.

“A little, I think,” he finally said. “It feels empty, and… it aches.” He glanced down at his stomach, then back at Akira. “Is that what you mean?”

“Uh-huh!” Akira nodded, frowning. He sat up, causing Ryo to lose his comfortable spot and make a noise of disappointment.

“Sorry,” Akira said, “it sounds like you’re really hungry.”

He thought for a moment, brown eyes fixed on Ryo, before tugging on their joined hands.

“Come on, you need to eat!” He beamed.

In the face of such enthusiasm, Ryo felt even more tired.

 

“Your house is nice,” Ryo muttered.

From his place standing in the doorway, he could see the unusually spacious interior. Dulled rays of sunlight shone through the windows above the kitchen sink, creating minor shadows throughout the room.

A clatter interrupted his thoughts and he glanced at Akira, watching as he stood on a stool in order to reach the counter. What exactly he was up to Ryo didn’t know, but for the time being he was content to simply observe.

His concentration wavered and he went back to looking around.

Perhaps it seemed oddly big because there wasn’t much in it. Aside from the essentials, such as furniture and the like, it was unusually bare. He couldn’t see any family photos, and the few decorations that he could see were impersonal.

The only signs that people currently lived in it at all was the absence of dust and small piles of what appeared to be notes, research journals, and books.

Ryo was suddenly seized by the thought that living here must be very lonely.

“It’s not really my house,” Akira said. Ryo looked over at him as he continued. “Mom and dad rented it so we could be together for a little bit while they were here. They… stopped to visit me between work trips.”

“Did they already leave again?” Ryo asked, remembering how Akira said his father carried him. If that was true, and Ryo had no reason to think otherwise, it was hard to believe that neither of Akira’s parents were around now.

“No!” Akira snapped. His tone was adamant and just short of a yell.

Ryo flinched and took a step back, considering apologizing for his question. He hadn’t known it would be such a tender subject.

“Sorry.” Akira signed before Ryo could say anything. “They didn’t leave, they just went out to- to see if, er, anyone around here… lost you.”

“Lost me,” Ryo repeated, not at all interested in the answer to that particular mystery. The phrasing made him sound like some sort of dog who’d wandered away from home.

“Yanno, like if your parents live nearby.” Akira paused and turned to face him. “Wait – do you have parents?”

“Don’t know.” Ryo shrugged, glancing between the bowls in Akira’s hands and the frown on his face. “What’s that?”

“Food!” Akira grinned and raised his chin proudly, setting the bowls on the table. “It’s just some warm soup, but dad made enough for leftovers yesterday, so there’s some for both of us!”

Ryo had to admit, the meal did smell good, and though his expression didn’t change, his mouth watered, and his stomach let him know just how empty it was via a pang of hunger.

He took several tentative steps towards the table, stopped, and glanced between one of the bowls and Akira, who had sat down with the other bowl.

“It won’t bite,” Akira coaxed, “It’s really good, promise!”

After a long moment, Ryo’s hunger won out over his caution and he moved forward, taking Akira’s hand in case the strength in his legs failed and sitting in the chair next to him.

Akira picked up a spoon with his free hand and dipped it into the bowl in front of Ryo.

“Blow on it and say ‘aah’!” He beamed, the bright smile on his face convincing Ryo to do as he said and blow halfheartedly on the steaming liquid.

“Aaah,” he repeated in a deadpan tone, blinking in surprise when the spoon was shoved into his mouth with perhaps a little more force than necessary. He swallowed.

“How is it?” Akira asked after feeding him several more spoonfuls.

Ryo’s throat seemed to close up. His chest squeezed like it was constricted by the blanket again. His vision turned blurry, and his cheeks felt odd.

“It’s good,” he finally said, ignoring the warble in his own voice.

Something soft touched his face and he flinched back.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Akira said as he used a napkin to gently dry the wet tracks on Ryo’s face. He didn’t ask for the reason behind Ryo’s tears, for which Ryo was grateful. Even he didn’t know.

“Are you a mermaid?” Akira inquired suddenly.

“What?” Ryo managed once he’d realized that yes, Akira had in fact just asked him that. He was caught off guard, so much so that he couldn’t help the shaky laugh which escaped him.

“Well, you did pop out of the sea,” Akira said, wiggling his fingers with a half-smile, “like magic! And I don’t know if mermaids have parents, and you said you didn’t know if you had parents…”

“No,” Ryo said, shaking his head. “I’m not a mermaid, Akira.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Aww.” Akira pouted, but it was ruined by the smile he couldn’t quite manage to hide. Ryo guessed he was just trying to cheer him up – and to his credit, it worked. “Well, I guess that’s okay.”

Both of them sat in silence after that, Ryo feeling strong enough to feed himself with his free hand while he held Akira’s with the other. It was only once they’d finished eating that Akira let go.

“We can take a nap if you feel tired,” Akira said as Ryo yawned.

“Okay,” Ryo agreed, taking Akira’s hand again and letting him pull him to his feet. “Akira?”

“Yeah?”

It felt odd, as though he was not used to it, but Ryo still forced his mouth to move, a small smile appearing on his face.

“Thank you.”

“No problem!”

The toothy grin Akira gave him in response made Ryo feel even warmer.

 

 

Accidents were not unusual, especially along relatively remote roads near the seaside. As people gathered around what remained of the car, no one paused to examine their surroundings. Even if they had, human eyes would be unable to pick out the eyes observing them.

From her place in the shadows on the cliff edge above, the demon known as Psycho Jenny watched events unfold.

It took longer than expected for the officers to calm the man – though that was no surprise, he was the only surviving relative, and his relation to the victim painfully obvious. No matter how much he struggled and yelled, he wasn’t allowed any closer to the wreck. Eventually, his shoulders slumped and he let himself be turned away, his sobs masked by the crash of waves against the jagged cliff below.

“What happened?” The man finally asked in a shaky voice, glasses askew on his face and dark hair mussed.

“It looks like your wife swerved- maybe to avoid something in the road,” the officer to his left said. “But… she must have overcompensated, lost control, and-”

They cut themselves off, averting their eyes to the ground.

“Was she acting different the last time you spoke, Mister Asuka?” Another officer cut in, eyes narrowing in a scolding glare at her coworker before softening as she returned her gaze to the mourning man.

“No- No, she was completely normal. Nothing-” Asuka took a breath and removed his glasses to dry his face. Replacing them was an admirable feat, his fingers were shaking so badly. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I- I just saw her, she said… she said she was taking Ryo to run some errands-”

“Ryo?” The first officer inquired, brow pinching in a frown.

“My son, he’s five, I- Wait,” Asuka froze, eyes widening. “You mean you hadn’t guessed?”

“Mister Asuka,” the second officer said carefully, glancing between him and her coworker. “Your son… he was not found in the car. Only your wife…”

“What are you talking ab- No, he’s- then where is he?!”

Before either of them could move to intercept him, he raced over to the wreckage and frantically scanned the inside. True to the officer’s words, the back seat was empty. The only signs there was ever someone there were a broken window and several bloody smears.

“Ryo,” he murmured, face ashen. He lifted a hand to his mouth and looked around.

A choked noise escaped him when he spotted blood on the railing, and he rushed to it.

“RYO!” He yelled, leaning over the rail. His eyes darted about, searching for some sign of life on the rocks or in the waves below.

But there was nothing, just dark water and cresting foam.

His wife was gone, and now so was his son.

He lost both of them.

Soon, his broken cries dissolved once more into sobs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are puddles, pets, and apologies.

Within the span of a week, Ryo decided he wanted a change of pace and scenery. After another week, he ran out of entertaining activities – but there were only so many things he could do to occupy himself while left alone in the house. More specifically, there were only so many non-destructive things he could do; while it would no doubt be amusing, he possessed no desire to engage in activities that could result in bodily harm or permanent property damage.

He didn’t get into trouble per se, but he suspected Akira’s mother was a bit miffed upon discovering all the reading materials in the house had been moved. If she’d asked Ryo, he would have admitted that he didn’t understand much of the scientific journals – only enough to loosely comprehend the concepts – but there was little else to read while he waited for Akira to return.

He’d quickly grown accustomed to the ever so slight creak of the door, the excited stomp of Akira’s shoes as he rushed over the threshold. Closing the book about invertebrates he’d been lazily flicking through, Ryo sat up just in time to see Akira, sans shoes, bouncing happily toward him.

“Rrryyooo,” Akira sang as he sat down to his left.

“Akira.” Ryo smiled. “How was school?”

Akira pursed his lips together, stuck his tongue out, and made a ‘thbbbt!’ noise.

“Boooring!” He lamented, throwing his arms up and dramatically slumping against Ryo, who smiled fondly at his antics. Ryo made to reply, but was cut off by Akira’s own excited voice.

“You should come to school with me!”

“Er, yes, well,” Ryo said, trying to sound interested he couldn’t be less excited at the idea of spending large amounts of time surrounded by noisy children, “We’d have to get your parents’ permission-”

“Great idea!”

Akira shot up from the ground and skipped off into the house, calling for his mother. After a moment of silent debate with himself, Ryo gathered the materials he’d been reading into his arms. From there, it was easy to follow the vague sounds of Akira’s excited chatter to the source, carefully balancing the books and other things in his arms as he went.

“-please please pleeeease?” Ryo heard Akira finish as he entered the kitchen, watching as Akira bounced on his toes and waved his hands.

“Alright,” Akira’s mother all-but sighed, though there was no hint of annoyance in her voice. Ryo noted she was leaning against the counter, exhaustion clear in the slumping of her shoulders. “I’ll talk it over with your father tonight.”

“Ok, okay,” Akira said, the springs in his feet deflating. “Um, when will dad be home?”

“Akira,” Ryo said, putting the pile in his arms on the kitchen table before walking over to stand next to him and tugging gently on his sleeve. “It rained a lot today. Come play outside with me.”

“Okay!” Akira beamed, his momentary low spirits forgotten. He grabbed Ryo’s had and tugged him toward the front door. “Come on, I wanna jump in the puddles!”

Ryo glanced over his shoulder, an ever-so-slight smile tugging at his lips when he saw some of the weight lift from her frame.

“Don’t forget your boots and coats!” She called after them.

“We won’t!” Akira yelled, quickly backtracking towards the coat rack.

Ryo could hear Akira’s excited humming as the two put on their raincoats, boots, and hats. Akira’s garb was yellow, while Ryo’s coat and boots were a light blue, his hat a dark grey.

“Here we goo-!” Akira sang, moving towards the door, only to be stopped by Ryo grabbing the back of his jacket.

“Wait,” Ryo said, moving to stand in front of him.

“What- oh,” Akira said, looking down at Ryo buttoning his coat and grinning . “Thanks!”

Ryo looked away, a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks.

“You’re welcome.”

Akira laughed, grabbing Ryo’s hand again. This time, Ryo let himself be tugged out the door.

 

“Jump in the puddles with me, Ryo!”

“Akira, I don’t think-”

“Do it, do it, come on!”

Kaori Fudo watched through the kitchen window as her son pulled Ryo over to the bigger puddles, not at all deterred or slowed by the other boy digging his heels into the muddy ground.

The scrapes on Ryo’s limbs had healed within a few days, and Akira was positively ecstatic when he’d been informed that Ryo was well enough to play with him.

After a moment of observing the two – Akira attempted to splash his friend with a well-timed jump, prompting a muffled laugh of “Akira!” – she turned away. Smiling to herself, she rearranged the texts Ryo had brought in and placed on the table.

At first, she thought that perhaps Ryo simply enjoyed looking at the illustrations that could be found in a few of the books, because surely he couldn’t read them. But from what she could see, he didn’t seem to prefer illustrated texts over purely scientific ones, nor did he express a preference for her archeological reports and research in comparison to Reijiro’s scientific journals.

A happy shriek from outside drew her attention.

Akita was sitting in one of the deeper puddles, gripping one of Ryo’s coat sleeves, and Kaori couldn’t remember ever seeing her son laugh so hard. Ryo knelt next to him, trying very hard to look like he wasn’t enjoying himself despite the obvious smile on his face.

“Want me to grab some towels?”

“Please,” Kaori sighed, turning to look at her husband with a smile.

“Sure thing.” He smiled back, and she felt more of the invisible weight on her shoulders vanish.

She returned to watching the boys, unable to stop her own smile from growing wider as the two splashed one-another, laughing.

“Should we call them in?” Reijiro asked, appearing in the doorway with two towels draped over an arm.

Kaori shook her head.

“They’ll come in when they’re ready. But we should probably run them a hot bath.”

“Alright.” He placed the towels on the counter and moved to stand next to her. “How was work?”

“I’m still waiting on the carbon results from the lab.” Kaori glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “What about you?”

“Water sample results were waiting by the front door when I got home.” Reijiro’s gaze lifted, watching as Akira and Ryo spun in circles with their hands linked, bright grins on their faces. “I asked around again today, checked missing persons too. No luck.”

“Poor boy,” Kaori sighed.

 

Ryo didn’t notice his teeth were chattering until they stopped spinning. Or rather, until Akira stopped spinning and Ryo simply followed suit.

“Dizzy,” Akira giggled, swaying on his feet.

“Are you al-alr- _ achoo _ !” Ryo sneezed, just barely managing to cover his nose.

That was enough to make Akira take notice and intertwine their fingers. His hands must have been like ice, but Ryo couldn’t tell – his own were practically numb.

“Let’s go inside,” Akira said, tugging Ryo forward. “Don’t want you to catch a cold.”

“You’re the one who got me all wet in the first place,” Ryo protested, but didn’t resist, plodding after Akira and trying to ignore how much he was shivering. He tried to steel himself and gripped Akira’s hand tighter.

“Moooom!” Akira called, closing the door behind them once they were inside. “We’re back! Where do you want us to hang our coats?”

“By the door is fine!” Kaori said from the kitchen.

For once, Ryo moved faster than Akira. He shook his feet to loosen the boots before toeing them off, then removed his hat and coat, hanging them by the door as instructed. Akira followed suit. Their hats had fallen off and been hastily replaced several times, so it was no surprise that both boys’ hair was a bit damp.

“You got me all muddy too,” Ryo said, looking down at the dirty spots on his bare skin and clothes. Most of it was concentrated on his legs, where his boots hadn’t been tall enough to shield him.

“It’s ok, we can just wash it off!” Akira grinned, tapping his heels together. While Ryo frowned at the lack of mud on his friend, Akira took their hats and stood on his toes to hang them.

“Oh!” Akira glanced over his shoulder at him, eyes bright. “Or maybe dad will make us hot cocoa!”

Reijiro poked his head into the hallway.

“That depends on whether you eat all your supper first.”

“Dad!” Akira beamed, wet socks slipping on the floor as he raced forward.

Ryo watched as Reijiro caught Akira in both a towel and his arms before lifting Akira off the ground, Akira wiggling and laughing as he did. There was a certain familiarity about the scene, but Ryo couldn’t place it.

His chest ached.

“Ryo, are you okay?”

Kaori’s voice broke him out of his daze and he turned to look up at her. She smiled, a towel in her hands.

“You look pretty cold. Let’s get you dried off so you can start warming up – hold still for me?”

He nodded, doing his best not to squirm while she dried his hair, then his face, and finally wrapped the large towel around him completely before pausing. No, she was hesitating, as if unsure of how to proceed.

Ryo could still hear Akira’s excited giggles as his father swung him around.

His eyes stung. He ducked his head and hid it by pretending to re-dry his bangs.

“You’re still shivering,” Kaori noted with a sigh, glancing at her husband. “Run them a hot bath?”

“Sure.” Reijiro nodded, placing Akira back on the ground. “You want bubbles?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Akira gave a little bounce, hair sticking up as a result of his father’s spinning. He began to skip towards Ryo, pausing to throw a “please!” over his shoulder before resuming his happy bound. “Ryo! Ryo Ryo Ryo, we get to take a bubble bath! Isn’t that great?”

“Mhm.” Ryo nodded, feeling the corners of his mouth turn up at the sheer enthusiasm Akira radiated, his own mood improving as if to reflect the same joy back.

“Why don’t you two go help pick out the bubbles?” Kaori said, a smile on her face as she watched Akira take Ryo’s hand, Akira’s touch gentle despite how his body practically vibrated with excitement, the same eagerness coloring his voice as he agreed.

Ryo tunes his surroundings out after that, content to simply follow Akira’s lead. He was vaguely aware of a sweet smell – Akira later proclaimed it to be vanilla – followed closely by warm water, and the dulled chatter of his friend as they bathed.

He remained in the bath a bit longer than Akira, waiting for the chill that clung to him so stubbornly to break. Once it had, Ryo climbed out and Akira handed him a towel.

Or rather, Akira tossed the towel over his head and laughed while Ryo tried to hide his own smile.

Once they were both dressed in their sleep clothes, the two moved to Akira’s room, which he’d been only too glad to share, and waited for the adults to come bid them goodnight.

“Mom!” Ryo heard Akira try to whisper, failing. “Can Ryo come to school with me? Please please pleeease?”

A pause, during which Ryo tried his best to appear fast asleep. He bit back a yawn, eyelids feeling a bit heavy despite the rapt attention with which he was trying to listen.

“Alright,” came Kaori’s voice. “You’ll share your supplies with him, show him around, make sure he doesn’t feel lonely?”

“Yes, I promise!”

The bed bounced in response to what Ryo assumed was Akira wiggling, and the last thing Ryo heard before drifting off was Akira’s mother gently scolding him.

 

As far as days go, this one started out easy enough: waking up, dressing, and eating were all accompanied by Akira’s energetic chatter, which had become a source of comfort to Ryo. The following walk to school was uncomfortable thanks to a cold breeze, but Ryo didn’t mind it so long as he had Akira by his side.

“There’s lots of stuff to do, so you won’t get bored” Akira said, kicking at a pebble in the path.

“Not ever?” Ryo asked, tilting his head. He made a clumsy attempt to mimic Akira, but missed the pebble and just barely managed to prevent himself from stumbling. “What is there to do?”

“Oh, puzzles, and toys, and we can play games-”

Ryo heard Akira cut himself off, and the next second he was brought to an abrupt halt, bumping headfirst into Akira’s back.

“What is it?” Ryo asked, lifting his gaze from the ground, which he’d been staring at in order to steer them around the muddier spots.

“Shh” Akira said, pointing with his free hand to a patch of nearby bushes. “Watch.”

Ryo bit back the urge to ask exactly what it was they were waiting for and took a step closer to Akira, placing himself partially behind one of his shoulders. There was a snapping noise, followed by a clump of leaves shuddering. Ryo couldn’t help the nervous squeak that escaped him, and he gripped Akira’s hand. One second of silence passed. Two.

Then, a small multicolored head emerged from the greenery, followed by an equally-sized meow.

“A kitten?” Ryo asked, watching the tiny creature totter out from the shade of the bush.

“Mhm” Akira hummed, nodding and smiling widely. “Ryo, this is Patches. Patches, Ryo.”

“ _ Mrrp _ !” said Patches, wiggling his fuzzy little stub of a tail.

“He looks pretty dry,” Ryo said, “Does he live here, by the road?”

Before Akira could respond,  a growling hiss emanated from within the leaves, accompanied by the form of a fully-grown cat as it slunk out into the open and placed itself between Patches and the two of them. In appearance, the cat was a bigger version of its kitten, though Patches had more red spots in his fur.

“Oh,” Akira said, “That’s his mom! I couldn’t think of a good name for her, so she’s just Mama.”

“Mama,” Ryo repeated, more to himself than to Akira. His chest constricted when he spoke, but he wasn’t sure why.

With his free hand, Akira reached into one of his pockets and brought out something wrapped in a napkin. Something that smelled quite strongly; strong enough to make Ryo drop Akira’s other hand and step away.

“Fish?” Ryo said, more of a guess than a question.

Akira nodded, glancing back at him briefly.

“Mama was getting pretty thin for awhile, so I’ve been bringing her food.”

Ryo watched as Akira took several steps forward, moving with practiced care. He knelt and gently shook the scraps of fish onto a patch of grass.

“Here you go,” Akira said in a hushed whisper, “Sorry it’s not much, I’ll try to get more next time.”

With the same sensitivity he’d shown in his approach, Akira stood and retreated back to Ryo’s side, putting the now-empty napkin back in his pocket. For a moment, they simply stood and watched. Mama sniffed at the offerings, the tip of her tail occasionally twitching. Then, she lowered her head and began to eat, pausing every so often to look over at them.

“We should get going,” Ryo finally said.

“Ah- right.” Akira reached for his hand again.

“Hold on, which one were you holding the fish with?”

“I don’t knooow!” Akira grinned, wiggling his fingers. “Why don’t you hold still for a sec, you’ll find out.”

“No!” Ryo laughed, scrambling to avoid Akira’s hands. “No, Akira, stoppit!”

 

With luck, the two managed to arrive at the school on time, Ryo holding the hand he’d judged to be the less-fishy one. Both their cheeks were pink from laughter, boots muddy from running with abandon through puddles in an effort to not be late. After drying off and hanging up their things, Ryo insisted Akira wash his hands with him, muttering about how he didn’t want to smell day-old fish all day.

Introductions were dull, and as soon as they passed Ryo returned to his place at Akira’s side. Akira simply smiled at him and linked their fingers.

“Alright!” Akira beamed. “Since it’s your first day, I can help you find something to do.”

Ryo nodded.

“Okay!” Akira led him over to one of the many shelves placed around the classroom. “Just take a look and tell me if there’s anything you wanna try, yeah?”

“Hm.” Ryo hummed, nodding again and letting his gaze sweep across the shelves’ contents.

On one of the shelves he could see paper, crayons, and paints; a second held smaller toys and blocks; a third contained puzzles and games in boxes. Out of the corner of his eye, he observe a child their age playing with several stuffed animals and dolls.

“D’you wanna join in?” Akira asked.

Ryo shook his head and reached for one of the puzzles.

“Not today,” he said, hoping to mask just how averse he was to interacting with the other kids. Even now, he could still feel their eyes on him from when he’d introduced himself – one child with brown hair and pale blue eyes, another peering shyly out from behind long black hair – both their gazes piercing, pinning him in place like a moth to a corkboard.

The situation was one he preferred never to be placed in again.

“Okay.” Akira nodded, picking out some paper and colored pencils for himself.

Together, they sat at one of the free tables. Akira immediately started scribbling away without so much as a thought, only being careful enough to avoid ripping his paper.

Ryo opened the box he’d grabbed and began methodically plucking out puzzle pieces, placing them on the table directly in front of him. He grouped them by color, putting the corner and edge pieces in their own little pile, then tried to connect them to form the puzzles’ boundary.

After awhile, he lost himself in the activity, only aware of things in his immediate vicinity – namely Akira.

The outer parts of the puzzle were easy to fill in, once he’d finished sorting the pieces. It wasn’t until he reached the sections closer to the middle that Ryo began to run into a problem. The longer he stared at the colors, the brighter and more annoying they became. But none of them fit – why didn’t they fit? He’d tried them every which-way, and they still wouldn’t go in-

“Wow, you’re almost done”

Akira’s voice brought Ryo out of his frustrated haze, and he realized he’d been scowling down at the nearly-completed puzzle for some time.

“Oh,” was all Ryo could manage, blinking owlishly.

“Can I help finish it?”

Ryo nodded, not even needing to think about it. Akira smiled and he felt his frustration melt away.

 

“Akira, I’m cold,” Ryo said, arms crossed and a frown tugging his mouth downward. One of his boots tapped impatiently at the damp earth. “How much longer are we gonna wait?”

“Just a little bit longer – I almost got him to come out!” Akira’s voice was muffled thanks to his current position: kneeling on the ground, hunched over sideways so he could beer under the same group of bushes they’d passed earlier that day.

“He’s not gonna-”

“Yeah, he will!” Akira insisted with a wiggle, trying to move forward even more. “Patches! C’mere boy!”

“He’s fine. Akira, don’t bother him.” Ryo tried again. “Besides, you don’t have any food – why would he listen to you?”

“Mama’s not around!” Akira twisted to look back over his shoulder at Ryo. “What if she wandered off? What if she got snatched? Patches could be all alone!”

It was no secret that Akira had a soft spot for animals – he lent Ryo his stuffed rabbit one night when Ryo needed something small to hold onto while he slept. But despite their son’s love of things big and small, the Fudos had no pets, likely a result of their busy work lives and limited time with Akira. An animal, no matter how maintenance, would only complicate things further.

“I really don’t think-” Ryo began, only to cut himself off when he felt something soft touch his leg. He looked down.

Mama stood at his feet, tail waving slowly, the soft fur occasionally brushing against his skin. Her green eyes peered up at him, unwavering, and Ryo hardly dared to breathe. He didn’t try to pet her, nor did he make any moves to get closer or further away; just stared while she seemed to weigh him with her sharp-but-warm gaze. After what felt like minutes, but was probably only a few seconds, the cat moved on with deliberate, somewhat dainty steps, heading right for-

“Akira!” Ryo hissed, trying to get his friends’ attention without startling the approaching cat. “Move!”

“Why?” Akira asked, then glanced over his shoulder, eyes going wide when he came face-to-face with Mama.

Ryo had to stifle a snort as he watched Akira all-but roll away from the bush, squeaking out garbled apologies as he went. Mama ignored him, slinking back into the leaves and returning to her kitten.

“That’s why,” Ryo said, voice still trembling with laughter. He knelt down and reached out a hand to help Akira up, not mentioning that Akira had mud on his cheek and in his hair as a result of the running.

But he did take the blame for it when they got home, claiming Akira tripped while chasing him, and Kaori let the two of them off with a shake of her head and a sigh. They were treated to another bubble bath that night, Akira giggling as he used the bubbles to create little beards on his and Ryo’s faces.

Perhaps going to school wouldn’t be such a bad thing, so long as Akira was there with him.

 

The screech of tires on pavement. Adrenaline, icy-hot, flooding his veins. An impact.

_ Crunch _ .

Pain.

Falling, falling, falling.

Then nothing.

_ Left left left he left he left her- _

Ryo bolted upright, body shaking violently and shivering from a cold sweat.

Scared, he realized, he was scared. But why?

A bolt of lighting threw the bedroom into focus for a split-second. The thunder that followed effectively wiped all rational thought from Ryo’s mind and made him lunge out of bed. He thrashed, caught in the sheets, then ripped himself free and stumbled out into the hall.

Table, his panicked mind supplied, there was a table nearby. It was safe, he could hide under it.

He ducked his head and crawled forward until he bumped into what might have been a table leg. Something shattered. Now spooked even further, he kept moving forward, only stopping when he reached a cool surface – the wall. Then he curled in on himself and waited, nails digging into his arms.

How long he stayed there, Ryo didn’t know. He didn’t know when the lights came back on either, only that he slowly became aware of someone talking to him, their voice a soft, gentle murmur. He peered out from his arms and saw Kaori. She must have knelt next to the table in order to see him, glasses slightly askew and brow furrowed in a look of concern.

“Are you afraid of the thunder, sweetie?” Her voice slowly came into focus. “A vase fell, are you hurt anywhere?”

She was a good mother.

But she wasn’t  _ his _ mother.

“I’m sorry,” Ryo said, cheeks damp and voice wobbling. “It’s my fault.”

“It was just an old vase, Ryo, don’t worry-”

Ryo shook his head, a whimper forcing itself from him. Something in the back of his mind told him he wasn’t apologizing for breaking a cheap decorative vase.

“It’s my-my fa- _ fault _ ,” he repeated, his lower lip quivering. “I did it. Too soon. I’m sorry. It was an a-accident. I didn’t kn- _ know _ . I didn’t me- _ mean _ it.”

Kaori said nothing. Instead, she extended her hand and let it rest on the floor, palm-up, and waited.

Eventually, the sounds of the storm subsided, until only the dull patter of rain remained. Tentatively, slow, Ryo unfolded himself and shuffled forward. He avoided the hand and instead tucked himself into her side.

“I’m  _ sorry _ ,” he sniffed, chest shuddering with barely-contained wails. “S-so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Kaori said, her arms wrapping him in a warm embrace that held just enough familiarity to make the pain in his chest multiply tenfold.

“Mm.” Ryo’s words were muffled by his own mouth, which was shut tightly.

“What is it?”

“Mama.”

He felt more than saw Kaori freeze. Ryo lifted his head, eyes bright with new, unshed tears.

“I w-want my M-mama.”

The invisible dam in his chest burst, and the boy began to sob, his body shuddering with the force of it. Once again, Kaori didn’t speak. Her only actions were to pull Ryo closer. Together, her gentle rocking and steady heartbeat lulled him into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the lovely comments and support on chapter one - and the kudos and bookmarks as well - you're all amazing! I hope you enjoyed two, and I'll work to have three up in a more timely fashion!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, feedback, found some typos and wanna let me know, etc, feel free to contact me on my tumblr, which can be found under the same username as this account ( opaleyedprince ).


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